Method and apparatus for quantization matrix signaling and representation in scalable video coding

ABSTRACT

A method and apparatus of scaling list data signaling for inter-layer or inter-view sharing of the scaling list data from a reference layer or a reference view in a scalable or three-dimensional video coding system are disclosed. A first flag may be incorporated in the current bitstream to indicate the scaling list data sharing from a reference layer or view. When the first flag exists and the first flag has a first value, the scaling list data for the current layer or the current view is determined from a reference bitstream for a reference layer or a reference view. When the first flag exists and the first flag has a second value, the scaling list data for the current layer or the current view is determined from the current bitstream.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a national stage application ofPCT/CN2014/073772, filed Mar. 20, 2014, which claimed priority to U.S.Provisional Patent Application, No. 61/809,508, filed on Apr. 8, 2013,entitled “On Quantization Matrix Signalling and Representation forScalable Video Coding and 3D Video Coding”. The U.S. Provisional PatentApplication is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to scalable video coding orthree-dimensional/multi-view video coding. In particular, the presentinvention relates to sharing quantization matrices among differentlayers or different views in order to improve coding efficiency.

BACKGROUND

Video streaming has become a mainstream for video delivery today.Supported by the high-speed ubiquitous internet as well as mobilenetworks, video contents can be delivered to end users for viewing ondifferent platforms with different qualities. In order to fulfilldifferent requirements for various video stream applications, a videosource may have to be processed or stored at different resolutions,frame rates, and/or qualities. It would result in fairly complicatedsystem and require high overall bandwidth or large overall storagespace. One solution to satisfy requirements for different resolutions,frame rates, qualities and/or bitrates is scalable video coding. Besidevarious proprietary development efforts to address this problem, thereis also an existing video standard for scalable video coding. The jointvideo team (JVT) of ISO/IEC MPEG and ITU-T VCEG has standardized aScalable Video Coding (SVC) extension to the H.264/AVC standard. AnH.264/AVC SVC bitstream can contain video information ranging from lowframe-rate, low resolution and low quality to high frame rate, highdefinition and high quality. This single bitstream can be adapted to aspecific application by properly configuring the scalability of thebitstream. For example, the complete bitstream corresponding to a highdefinition video can be delivered over high-speed networks to providefull quality intended for viewing on large screen TV. A portion of thebitstream corresponding to a low-resolution version of the highdefinition video can be delivered over legacy cellular networks forintended viewing on handheld/mobile devices. Accordingly, a bitstreamgenerated using H.264/AVC SVC is suitable for various video applicationssuch as video broadcasting, video streaming, and surveillance.

In SVC, three types of scalabilities, i.e., temporal scalability,spatial scalability, and quality scalability are provided. SVC uses amulti-layer coding structure to render three dimensions of scalability.The concept of SVC is to generate one scalable bitstream that can beeasily and quickly adapted to fit the bit-rate of various transmissionchannels, diverse display capabilities, and/or different computationalresources without the need of transcoding or re-encoding. An importantfeature of SVC design is to provide scalability at the bitstream level.Bitstreams for a reduced spatial and/or temporal resolution can besimply obtained by discarding NAL units (or network packets) that arenot required for decoding the target resolution. NAL units for qualityrefinement can be additionally truncated in order to reduce the bit-rateand/or the corresponding video quality.

In the H.264/AVC SVC extension, spatial scalability is supported basedon the pyramid coding. First, the video sequence is down-sampled tosmaller pictures with different spatial resolutions (layers). The lowestlayer (i.e., the layer with lowest spatial resolution) is called a baselayer (BL). Any layer above the base layer is called an enhancementlayer (EL). In addition to dyadic spatial resolution, the H.264/AVC SVCextension also supports arbitrary resolution ratios, which is calledextended spatial scalability (ESS). In order to improve the codingefficiency of the enhancement layers (video layers with largerresolutions), various inter-layer prediction schemes have been disclosedin the literature. Three inter-layer prediction tools have been adoptedin SVC, including inter-layer motion prediction, inter-layer Intraprediction and inter-layer residual prediction (e.g., C. Andrew Segalland Gary J. Sullivan, “Spatial Scalability Within the H.264/AVC ScalableVideo Coding Extension”, IEEE Transactions on Circuits and Systems forVideo Technology, Vol. 17, No. 9, Pages 1121-1135, September 2007).

FIG. 1 illustrates an example of spatial scalability design according toH.264/AVC SVC. Base layer encoder 110 receives a lower resolution videosequence as input and encodes the low-resolution sequence usingconventional H.264/AVC video coding. Coding mode selection 112 canselect a prediction mode between Intra-prediction and motion-compensatedInter-prediction. Enhancement layer encoder 120 receives a higherresolution sequence as input. The higher resolution sequence can beencoded with a structure similar to the conventional H.264/AVC coding.However, inter-layer prediction 130 can be used as an additional codingmode. Accordingly, mode selection 122 for the enhancement layer canselect a prediction mode among Intra-prediction, motion-compensatedInter-prediction and inter-layer prediction. For the case of Intra-codedblocks in the base layer, reconstructed blocks provide a prediction forthe enhancement layer. For the case of Inter-coded blocks in the baselayer, motion vectors and residual difference information of the baselayer can be used to predict those of the enhancement layer. While tworesolution layers are shown in FIG. 1 as an example of spatialscalability according to H.264/AVC SVC, more resolution layers can beadded, which a higher-resolution enhancement layer can use either thebase layer or previously transmitted enhancement layers for inter-layerprediction. Furthermore, other forms of SVC enhancement (e.g., temporalor quality) may also be present in the system.

HEVC (High Efficiency Video Coding) is an advanced video coding systemdeveloped under the Joint Collaborative Team on Video Coding (JCT-VC)group of video coding experts from ITU-T Study Group. HEVC utilizes veryflexible data structure including coding unit (CU), prediction unit (PU)and transform unit (TU). The CU, PU and TU can be partitioned intosmaller blocks. Usually, rate-distortion cost is used to select bestpartitions for the CUs, PUs and TUs. The scalable coding system may alsobe based on HEVC and the HEVC-based scalable video coding system isnamed SHVC.

Both AVC/H.264 and HEVC are block-based coding system, where the pictureis divided into coding blocks. For AVC/H.264, the picture is dividedinto macroblocks and each luma macroblock (i.e., Y component) consistsof 16×16 pixels. For HEVC, the picture is divided into largest codingunits (LCUs) and each CU may be further partitioned into smaller CUsuntil the smallest CU is reached. Each macroblock or CU is thenpredicted using Inter or Intra prediction to generate residues for themacroblock or CU. The residues of the macroblock or CU are divided intoTUs and each TU is processed by two-dimensional transform. The transformcoefficients of each TU are quantized using a quantization matrix. Thequantized transform coefficients are coded using entropy coding to formpart of the coded bitstream.

Information associated with the quantization matrices, also calledscaling list data, usually is incorporated in the coded bitstream sothat a decoder can apply inverse quantization accordingly. For AVC, thescaling list data is provided for block sizes 4×4 and 8×8, Inter andIntra prediction modes, and different color components (i.e., Y, Cb andCr) individually. For HEVC, the scaling list data is provided for blocksizes 4×4 and 8×8 similar to AVC. In addition, the scaling list data forblock sizes 16×16 and 32×32 is also provided. For 16×16, the scalinglist data is provided for Inter and Intra prediction modes and colorcomponents Y, Cb and Cr individually, where the 16×16 matrices areup-sampled from the corresponding 8×8 matrices. For 32×32, the scalinglist data is provided for Inter and Intra prediction modes and Ycomponent individually, where the 32×32 matrices are up-sampled from thecorresponding 8×8 matrices.

For scalable system based on SVC, the set of quantization matricessimilar to AVC are signalled for each layer. For scalable system basedon SHVC, the set of quantization matrices similar to HEVC are signalledfor each layer. Therefore, the scaling list data grows with the numberof layers. In a multi-view coding system, the scaling list data may haveto be signalled for each view and the scaling list data grows with thenumber of views. It is desirable to reduce the required scaling listdata for a scalable system or a three-dimensional/multi-view system.

SUMMARY

A method and apparatus of scaling list data signaling by sharing thescaling list data with a reference layer or a reference view for ascalable or three-dimensional video decoding system are disclosed. Themethod according to the present invention receives coded data associatedwith a current block in a current layer or a current view from a currentbitstream and determines whether a first flag exists in the currentbitstream. When the first flag exists and the first flag has a firstvalue, the scaling list data for the current layer or the current viewis determined from a reference bitstream for a reference layer or areference view. When the first flag exists and the first flag has asecond value, the scaling list data for the current layer or the currentview is determined from the current bitstream. The scaling list datadetermined is then used in the decoding process for the coded dataassociated with the current block.

In one embodiment, the first flag is located in a sequence parameter set(SPS) of the current bitstream when the first flag exists. In anotherembodiment, the first flag is located in a picture parameter set (PPS)of the current bitstream when the first flag exists. The existence ofthe first flag may be indicated by a scaling list data presence flag inthe current bitstream. When the first flag is not present in the currentbitstream, the first flag is inferred to have the first value.

A method and apparatus of scaling list data signaling by sharing thescaling list data with a reference layer or a reference view for ascalable or three-dimensional video encoding system are disclosed. Themethod according to the present invention receives input data associatedwith a current block in a current layer or a current view from a currentbitstream, and then processes the input data using a current scalinglist. The determination of the current scaling list data is signalledusing a first flag, wherein a first value is assigned to the first flagwhen the scaling list data for the current layer or the current view isinferred from a reference layer or a reference view, and a second valueis assigned to the first flag when the current layer or the current viewuses own scaling list data. The scaling list data for the current layeror the current view is incorporated in a current bitstream for thecurrent layer or the current view when the first flag has the secondvalue, and otherwise the scaling list data for the current layer or thecurrent view is not incorporated in the current bitstream.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary system block diagram for two-layerscalable coding based on the H.264/AVC scalable coding standard.

FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary syntax design for sequence parameter setaccording to an embodiment of the present invention to support sharingof the scaling list data with a reference layer.

FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary syntax design for picture parameter setaccording to an embodiment of the present invention to support sharingof the scaling list data with a reference layer.

FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary syntax design for scaling list dataaccording to an embodiment of the present invention to support sharingof the scaling list data with a reference layer.

FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary flowchart of a scalable orthree-dimensional encoding system incorporating an embodiment of thepresent invention to support sharing of the scaling list data with areference layer or a reference view.

FIG. 6 illustrates an exemplary flowchart of a scalable orthree-dimensional decoding system incorporating an embodiment of thepresent invention to support sharing of the scaling list data with areference layer or a reference view.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In SVC and SHVC, the scaling list (quantization matrix) information issignalled and processed independently in different spatial and qualitylayers. Due to the high correlation among the temporal collocatedpictures among different spatial and quality layers, the same set ofscaling lists (i.e. quantization matrices) may be used among differentspatial and quality layers. To remove the redundancy of signallingscaling list information as in the conventional systems, embodiments ofthe present invention allow sharing scaling lists of a reference layerby higher (enhancement) layers in the scalable video coding system. Thepresent invention may also be extended to three-dimensional ormulti-view coding system to share scaling lists of a reference view bydependent views.

In the first embodiment, the scaling list data may be incorporated inthe sequence level such as the sequence parameter set (SPS) as indicatedby a sequence level list-data present flag (e.g.,sps_scaling_list_data_present_flag). The sequence level list-datapresent flag indicates whether the scaling list data is incorporated inthe sequence level or not. If the sequence level list-data present flaghas a first specified value (e.g.,sps_scaling_list_data_present_flag=1), the scaling list data is carriedin the SPS. If the sequence level list-data present flag has a secondspecified value, (e.g., sps_scaling_list_data_present_flag=0), thescaling list data is not present in the SPS. If the sequence levellist-data present flag is not present, the sequence level list-datapresent flag is inferred to have the second specified value. In the casethat a control flag (e.g., scaling_list_enabled_flag) indicates that thescaling list data is enabled and the sequence level list-data presentflag has the second specific value (i.e.,sps_scaling_list_data_present_flag=0), the scaling list data isdetermined as follows:

When the current video data is the base-layer (e.g., as indicated bynuh_layer_id=0), a default scaling list data is used. For example, thedefault scaling list data may be used to derive the array ScalingFactoras described in the scaling list data semantics specified in the SHVCstandard.

When the current video data is an enhancement layer (e.g., as indicatedby nuh_layer_id>0) having block size 16×16 or 32×32 (e.g., as indicatedby sizeID=2 or 3) and the base layer conforms to the single layer orsingle view standard (e.g., AVC or HEVC) instead of the scalable ormulti-view standard (e.g., SVC or SHVC), default scaling list data isused. For example, the default scaling list data for 8×8 block size maybe up-scaled to derive the array ScalingFactor for 16×16 and 32×32 blocksize as described in the scaling list data semantics specified in theSHVC standard.

Otherwise, the scaling list data of the reference layer is used. Forexample, the scaling list data is used to derive the arrayScalingFactor. The reference layer can be the immediate lower layer orthe base layer, or can be indicated by a reference_layer_id.

The scaling list data may be incorporated in the picture level such asthe picture parameter set (PPS) as indicated by a picture levellist-data present flag (e.g., pps_scaling_list_data_present_flag). Thepicture level list-data present flag indicates whether to modify thescaling list data incorporated in active sequence parameter set. If thepicture level list-data present flag has a first specified value (e.g.,pps_scaling_list_data_present_flag=1), the scaling list data in the PPSis used to modify the scaling list data in the SPS. If the picture levellist-data present flag has a second specified value, (e.g.,pps_scaling_list_data_present_flag=0), the scaling list data for thepicture uses the scaling list data in the active SPS. If the controlflag indicates that the scaling list data is disabled (e.g.,scaling_list_enabled_flag=0), the picture level list-data present flagshall have the second specified value (i.e.,pps_scaling_list_data_present_flag=0). In the case that the control flagindicates that the scaling list data is enabled (e.g.,scaling_list_enabled_flag=1), the sequence level list-data present flaghas the second specific value (i.e.,sps_scaling_list_data_present_flag=0), and the picture level list-datapresent flag also has the second specified value (i.e.,pps_scaling_list_data_present_flag=0). the scaling list data isdetermined as follows:

When the current video data is the base-layer (e.g., as indicated bynuh_layer_id=0), a default scaling list data is used. For example, thedefault scaling list data may be used to derive the array ScalingFactoras described in the scaling list data semantics specified in the SHVCstandard.

When the current video data is an enhancement layer (e.g., as indicatedby nuh_layer_id>0) having block size 16×16 or 32×32 (e.g., as indicatedby sizeID=2 or 3) and the base layer conforms to the single layer orsingle view standard (e.g., AVC or HEVC) instead of the scalable ormulti-view standard (e.g., SVC or SHVC), default scaling list data isused. For example, the default scaling list data for 8×8 block size maybe up-scaled to derive the array ScalingFactor for 16×16 and 32×32 blocksize as described in the scaling list data semantics specified in theSHVC standard.

Otherwise, the scaling list data of the reference layer is used. Forexample, the scaling list data is used to derive the arrayScalingFactor. The reference layer can be the immediate lower layer orthe base layer, or can be indicated by a reference_layer_id.

In the second embodiment, a new flag is used in the sequence level toindicate whether the scaling list data is inferred from the scaling listdata in the reference layer sequence parameter set when the sequencelevel list-data flag indicates that scaling list data exists in thesequence level. An exemplary syntax design to facilitate the embodimentis illustrated in FIG. 2. The new syntax element,sps_base_pred_scaling_list_flag is introduced in the SPS. As shown inFIG. 2, sps_base_pred_scaling_list_flag is signalled ifsps_scaling_list_data_present_flag is equal to 1.sps_base_pred_scaling_list_flag with a first value (e.g., 1) indicatesthat the scaling list data is inferred from the scaling list data in thereference layer SPS. sps_base_pred_scaling_list_flag with a second value(e.g., 0) indicates that scaling list data is present in the SPS. If thereference layer is the base layer and the avc_base_layer_flag invps_extension ( ) is 1 (i.e., the base layer conforms to the AVCstandard), sps_base_pred_scaling_list_flag shall have the second value(i.e., 0). When sps_base_pred_scaling_list_flag is not present in theSPS, the value is inferred to have the second value (i.e. 0).

Furthermore, in the second embodiment, the new flag may also be used inthe picture level to indicate whether the scaling list data is inferredfrom the scaling list data in the reference layer picture parameter setwhen the picture level list-data flag indicates that scaling list dataexists in the picture level. An exemplary syntax design to facilitatethe embodiment is illustrated in FIG. 3. New syntax element,pps_base_pred_scaling_list_flag is introduced in the PPS.pps_base_pred_scaling_list_flag is signalled ifpps_scaling_list_data_present_flag is 1. pps_base_pred_scaling_list_flagwith a first value (e.g., 1) indicates that the scaling list data isinferred from the scaling list data in the reference layer PPS.pps_base_pred_scaling_list_flag with a second value (e.g., 0) indicatesthat scaling list data is present in the PPS. If the reference layer isthe base layer and avc_base_layer_flag in vps_extension ( ) is 1 (i.e.,the base layer conforms to the AVC standard),pps_base_pred_scaling_list_flag shall have a value of 0. Whenpps_base_pred_scaling_list_flag is not present, the value is inferred tobe the second value (i.e., 0).

In the existing non-scalable coding standards, such as HEVC, thequantization matrix ID may be identified using the delta between thecurrent matrix ID and a reference matrix ID. If the delta is 0, adefault scaling list is used. Otherwise, the scaling list is inferredfrom the reference scaling list. In the third embodiment, the relatedsemantics is modified to support the sharing of base-layer or referencelayer scaling list, where a zero-valued delta will use the defaultscaling list only for the base layer; for higher layers, the scalinglist is inferred from the reference-layer scaling list. When the deltais non-zero, the scaling list is inferred from the reference scalinglist. An example of syntax design based on HEVC to facilitate the thirdembodiment is shown below. The semantics of the HEVC scaling list datasyntax element, “scaling_list_pred_matrix_id_delta” is modified, asfollows:

-   -   scaling_list_pred_matrix_id_delta [sizeId] [matrixId] specifies        the reference scaling list used to derive ScalingList [sizeId]        [matrixId] according to:

If scaling_list_pred_matrix_id_delta is equal to 0, the scaling list isinferred from the default scaling list ScalingList [sizeId] [matrixId][i] as specified in the HEVC standard for i=0 . . . Min (64,(1<<(4+(sizeId<<1)))) when nuh_layer_id is 0 (i.e. base layer). Whennul_layer_id is greater than 0 (i.e. enhancement layer), the scalinglist is inferred from the reference layer scaling list ScalingList[sizeId] [matrixId] [i] for i=0 . . . Min (64, (1<<(4+(sizeId<<1)))).

Otherwise, the scaling list is inferred.

In the fourth embodiment, a new syntax element is used within scalinglist data syntax to indicated whether the reference scaling list used toderive ScalingList is from a reference layer or not. For example, FIG. 4illustrates an example according to the fourth embodiment, where the newsyntax element, “base_pred_scaling_list_flag” is introduced. The syntaxand semantics are described as follows. base_pred_scaling_list_flag issignalled if scaling_list_pred_mode_flag is 0.base_pred_scaling_list_flag having a value of 1 indicates that thereference scaling list used to derive ScalingList[sizeId] [matrixId] isfrom a reference layer. base_pred_scaling_list_flag having a value of 0indicates the reference scaling list used to derive ScalingList [sizeId][matrixId] is from the same layer. base_pred_scaling_list_flag shall be0 if sizeId is 2 or 3, the reference layer is the base layer, and thevalue of avc_base_layer_flag in vps_extension ( ) is 1.

While various examples are illustrated for higher layers (i.e.,enhancement layers) in a scalable video coding system to re-use thescaling list data from reference layer or base layer, the presentinvention is also applicable to three-dimensional/multi-view coding fordependent views (or enhancement views or predicted views to re-use thescaling list data from a reference view or base view. Beside directlyreuse the scaling list data, the scaling list data of higher layers ordependent views can also be predicted or derived from a reference layeror reference view.

In single layer (view) video coding there are two types of predictions,i.e. Intra prediction and Inter prediction. When a block is Intrapredicted, Intra scaling list with the corresponding size and colourspace is applied. When a block is Inter predicted, Inter scaling listwith the corresponding size and color space is applied. In scalable or3D video coding, there is another prediction mode, i.e. inter-layer orinter-view texture prediction mode (or “Intra_BL” mode in prior artstandard). In the present invention, the inter-layer or inter-viewtexture prediction mode is treated in the same way as Inter predictionmode. In other words, if a block is inter-layer or inter-view texturepredicted, Inter scaling list with the corresponding size and colorspace is applied. Yet in another embodiment, inter-layer or inter-viewtexture predicted blocks can be treated as Intra predicted blocks, i.e.if a block is inter-layer (view) texture predicted, Intra scaling listwith the corresponding size and color space is applied.

FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary flowchart of a scalable orthree-dimensional encoding system incorporating an embodiment of thepresent invention to support sharing of the scaling list data from areference layer or a reference view. The system receives input dataassociated with a current block in a current layer or a current view asshown in step 510. The input data may be received from memory or fromother processing unit through an interface. The input data associatedwith the current block in the current layer or the current view is thenprocessed using current scaling list data as shown in step 520. Thedetermination of the current scaling list data is signalled using afirst flag as shown in step 530, wherein a first value is assigned tothe first flag when the scaling list data for the current layer or thecurrent view is derived from a reference layer or a reference view, anda second value is assigned to the first flag when the scaling list datafor the current layer or the current view uses individual scaling listdata. The scaling list data for the current layer or the current view isincorporated in a current bitstream for the current layer or the currentview when the first flag has the second value as shown in step 540, andotherwise the scaling list data for the current layer or the currentview is not incorporated in the current bitstream.

FIG. 6 illustrates an exemplary flowchart of a scalable orthree-dimensional decoding system incorporating an embodiment of thepresent invention to support sharing of the scaling list data from areference layer or a reference view. The system receives coded dataassociated with a current block in a current layer or a current viewfrom a current bitstream as shown in step 610. The coded data may bereceived from memory or from other processing unit through an interface.The system then determines whether a first flag exists in the currentbitstream as shown step 620. When the first flag exists and the firstflag has a first value, scaling list data for the current layer or thecurrent view is determined from a reference bitstream for a referencelayer or a reference view as shown in step 630. When the first flagexists and the first flag has a second value, the scaling list data forthe current layer or the current view is determined from the currentbitstream as shown in step 640. Decoding process is then applied to thecoded data associated with the current block using the scaling list datadetermined as shown in step 650.

The flowcharts shown above are intended to illustrate examples ofinter-layer or inter-view scaling list data sharing for scalable andthree-dimensional video coding. A person skilled in the art may modifyeach step, re-arranges the steps, split a step, or combine steps topractice the present invention without departing from the spirit of thepresent invention.

The above description is presented to enable a person of ordinary skillin the art to practice the present invention as provided in the contextof a particular application and its requirement. Various modificationsto the described embodiments will be apparent to those with skill in theart, and the general principles defined herein may be applied to otherembodiments. Therefore, the present invention is not intended to belimited to the particular embodiments shown and described, but is to beaccorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and novelfeatures herein disclosed. In the above detailed description, variousspecific details are illustrated in order to provide a thoroughunderstanding of the present invention. Nevertheless, it will beunderstood by those skilled in the art that the present invention may bepracticed.

Embodiment of the present invention as described above may beimplemented in various hardware, software codes, or a combination ofboth. For example, an embodiment of the present invention can be acircuit integrated into a video compression chip or program codeintegrated into video compression software to perform the processingdescribed herein. An embodiment of the present invention may also beprogram code to be executed on a Digital Signal Processor (DSP) toperform the processing described herein. The invention may also involvea number of functions to be performed by a computer processor, a digitalsignal processor, a microprocessor, or field programmable gate array(FPGA). These processors can be configured to perform particular tasksaccording to the invention, by executing machine-readable software codeor firmware code that defines the particular methods embodied by theinvention. The software code or firmware code may be developed indifferent programming languages and different formats or styles. Thesoftware code may also be compiled for different target platforms.However, different code formats, styles and languages of software codesand other means of configuring code to perform the tasks in accordancewith the invention will not depart from the spirit and scope of theinvention.

The invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departingfrom its spirit or essential characteristics. The described examples areto be considered in all respects only as illustrative and notrestrictive. The scope of the invention is therefore, indicated by theappended claims rather than by the foregoing description. All changeswhich come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims areto be embraced within their scope.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of scaling list data signaling for ascalable or three-dimensional video decoding system, wherein video datais configured into two or more layers or the video data comprises two ormore views, the method comprising: receiving coded data associated witha current block in a current layer or a current view from a currentbitstream; determining whether a first flag exists in a sequenceparameter set (SPS) of the current bitstream; determining scaling listdata for the current layer or the current view from a referencebitstream associated with the SPS of the current bitstream for areference layer or a reference view when the first flag exists and thefirst flag has a first value; determining the scaling list data for thecurrent layer or the current view from the SPS of the current bitstreamwhen the first flag exists and the first flag has a second value;determining whether a second flag exists in a picture parameter set(PPS) of the current bitstream; determining the scaling list data forthe current layer or the current view from a reference bitstreamassociated with the PPS of the current bitstream for a reference layeror a reference view when the second flag exists and the second flag hasa first value; determining the scaling list data for the current layeror the current view from the PPS of the current bitstream when thesecond flag exists and the second flag has a second value; determiningwhether a third flag exists within the scaling list data, wherein thethird flag is configured to indicate whether a reference scaling listthat is used to derive a scaling list is from a reference layer or asame layer; determining that the reference scaling list that is used toderive the scaling list is from the reference layer when the third flaghas a first value; determining that the reference scaling list that isused to derive the scaling list is from the same layer when the thirdflag has a second value; and applying decoding process to the coded dataassociated with the current block using the determined scaling listdata.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein existence of the first flag isindicated by a scaling list data present flag in the current bitstream.3. The method of claim 1, wherein the first flag is inferred to have thefirst value when the first flag is not present in the current bitstream.4. A method of scaling list data signaling for a scalable orthree-dimensional video encoding system, wherein video data isconfigured into two or more layers or the video data comprises two ormore views, the method comprising: receiving input data associated witha current block in a current layer or a current view; processing theinput data associated with the current block in the current layer or thecurrent view using current scaling list data; signaling determination ofthe current scaling list data using a first flag, wherein a first valueis assigned to the first flag when the scaling list data for the currentlayer or the current view is derived from a sequence parameter set (SPS)reference layer or a reference view, and a second value is assigned tothe first flag when the current layer or the current view uses ownscaling list data, and the scaling list data is to be incorporated in aSPS of a current bit stream; signaling determination of the currentscaling list data using a second flag, wherein a first value is assignedto the second flag when the scaling list data for the current layer orthe current view is derived from a picture parameter set (PPS) referencelayer or a reference view, and a second value is assigned to the secondflag when the current layer or the current view uses own scaling listdata, and the scaling list data is to be incorporated in a PPS of thecurrent bit stream; indicate whether a reference scaling list that isused to derive a scaling list is from a reference layer or a same layerusing a third flag, wherein a first value is assigned to the third flagwhen the reference scaling list that is used to derive the scaling listis from the reference layer, and a second value is assigned to the thirdflag when the reference scaling list that is used to derive the scalinglist is from the same layer; incorporating the scaling list data for thecurrent layer or the current view in the SPS of the current bitstreamfor the current layer or the current view when the first flag has thesecond value; and incorporating the scaling list data for the currentlayer or the current view in the PPS of the current bitstream for thecurrent layer or the current view when the second flag has the secondvalue.
 5. The method of claim 4, wherein existence of the first flag isindicated by a scaling list data present flag in the current bitstream.6. The method of claim 4, wherein the first flag is inferred to have thefirst value when the first flag is not present in the current bitstream.7. An apparatus for scaling list data signaling in a scalable orthree-dimensional video decoding system, wherein video data isconfigured into two or more layers or the video data comprises two ormore views, the apparatus comprising one or more electronic circuits,wherein said one or more electronic circuits are configured to: receivecoded data associated with a current block in a current layer or acurrent view from a current bitstream; determine whether a first flagexists in a sequence parameter set (SPS) first level of the currentbitstream; determine scaling list data for the current layer or thecurrent view from a reference bitstream associated with the SPS of thecurrent bitstream for a reference layer or a reference view when thefirst flag exists and the first flag has a first value; determine thescaling list data for the current layer or the current view from the SPSof the current bitstream when the first flag exists and the first flaghas a second value; determine whether a second flag exists in a pictureparameter set (PPS) of the current bitstream; determine the scaling listdata for the current layer or the current view from a referencebitstream associated with the PPS of the current bitstream for areference layer or a reference view when the second flag exists and thesecond flag has a first value; determine the scaling list data for thecurrent layer or the current view from the PPS of the current bitstreamwhen the second flag exists and the second flag has a second value;determine whether a third flag exists within the scaling list data,wherein the third flag is configured to indicate whether a referencescaling list that is used to derive a scaling list is from a referencelayer or a same layer; determine that the reference scaling list that isused to derive the scaling list is from the reference layer when thethird flag has a first value; determine that the reference scaling listthat is used to derive the scaling list is from the same layer when thethird flag has a second value; and apply decoding process to the codeddata associated with the current block using the determined scaling listdata.
 8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein existence of the first flagis indicated by a scaling list data present flag in the currentbitstream.
 9. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the first flag isinferred to have the first value when the first flag is not present inthe current bitstream.